Three nights a week I ride from Van Nuys, over the Sepulveda Pass to Wilshire, and the back over the pass, back to Van Nuys again. It's about a 25-27 mile round trip depending on whether or not I also stop by the Sepulveda Basin park to meet up with a friend first. I consider the climb a good training ride. Sometimes I repeat the Valley side of the climb too, just for good measure.

In May I started doing a weekly ride over Topanga Canyon from the Valley to the PCH and back. After awhile, I lost interest in it because I could never seem to get up the steep grade on the return trip in lower Topanga without stopping at a turn-out halfway up the steepest part of the grade. If you ride Topanga occasionally, you probably know where I mean. Think of a couple miles from the PCH, narrow windy segment, guard rail on one side, and steep.

So now it's five months later; I've been riding 90 to 150 miles a week every week since May (except a couple weeks of vacation, where I still got 70 miles in). As I said, I've been training in the Sepulveda Pass three nights a week, plus I go for a "longer" ride (50 - 80 miles) once a week. The longer ride usually takes me over the pass too, and then along the coastline and back.

Today, I took a ride from home in Van Nuys, over the Sepulveda Pass, north on the PCH to Topanga, up and over Topanga to the Valley again, east to the Sepulveda Basin park, one lap around the park, and then back to home; 50.5 miles. With all the riding I've been doing, and all the hills, I expected the ascent in lower Topanga to be no problem. But once again, it kicked my butt, and I had to stop to let my legs regenerate for a few minutes on one of the turn-outs in the steepest part of the ascent. ...maybe fewer stops (only one from PCH to the top), but still, it seems it shouldn't still be necessary.

So I ask: What gearing are people pulling up that grade? It seems ridiculous to consider 30/27. In routine training rides the only place I ever drop to 30/25 is climbing the last quarter mile to Skirball Center (Sepulveda again). So if I had 30/27, I can think of only one place I would ever use it; a mile long portion of the Topanga ascent.

First, what gearing are people using to climb that grade?

Second, what can I do to further HTFU so that I can make it up without stopping like a baby? Just keep riding?